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English

English courses focus on developing effective communication skills in writing, reading, listening, and speaking. The department is committed to enhancing students’ ability to think deeply, creatively, and critically through a variety of learning experiences.

The reading curriculum includes a focus on timeless, relevant literature in a range of genres; vocabulary development; close reading; and literary devices. In our writing curriculum, students craft a variety of texts appropriate for a growing range of audiences, developing their skills in organization, grammar and mechanics, language, and content. This provides grounding for our students to navigate an increasingly complex world—one that demands the 21st-century skills of collaboration, digital literacy, and problem solving—by creating authentic products in multiple media.

Advanced Placement classes are open to qualified juniors and seniors by recommendation of the English faculty. Newly admitted students who wish to participate in an AP English class should inform the Admissions Office, which can help facilitate placement.

English 1: Introduction to Literature

Two semesters, one credit. Required of all freshmen.

In freshman English, students acquire an under-standing of textual relevance through guided analytical reading (theme, characterization, literary devices), structured writing, and oral communication in a collaborative setting. Freshmen texts include Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street, and a selection of works by refugee writers as well as selected poetry and nonfiction. Students produce a variety of products centered around the discovery of who they are as developing thinkers.

English 2: World Literature

Two semesters, one credit. Required of all sophomores.

Sophomore English students analyze diverse texts, undertake guided research, critique arguments, and formulate rhetorical analyses. Texts include Rand’s Anthem and Satrapi’s graphic novel, Persepolis, along with poetry and nonfiction selections. Sophomores produce a variety of products centered around the value of the individual in a larger community.

Spring Semester Options for English 1 & 2

Students in grades 9 and 10 must choose one of the following focus areas for spring semester. Selections may not be repeated.

Shakespeare Studiesexplores the Bard’s dramatic and poetic genius through a critical study of his selected works. We explore literary elements, motifs, and conventions, and how these works were influenced by social and cultural issues.

Project-Based Writingfocuses on the author’s craft. Students are expected to produce and publish authentic prose through the help of mentor texts and class collaboration.

English 3: American Literature

Two semesters, one credit. Required of all juniors, except those enrolled in English 3: AP.

Junior English students develop as discerning thinkers and learn to utilize various critical lenses, conduct independent research, and formulate critical responses. Texts include Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, and selected writings of Emerson and Thoreau, along with poetry, nonfiction, and film. Juniors gain ownership of a variety of authentic products centered around American literature and its relevance today.

OR

English 3AP: Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition

Two semesters, one credit. Open to qualified juniors by teacher recommendation.

AP English Literature and Composition students interpret texts with sensitivity to nuances of craft and creativity in expression. Students acquire skills of independent analysis and literary criticism, along with composition skills of voice, structure, and argumentation. Students undertake frequent timed-writing responses to prompts. In addition, in-depth, out-of-class writing assignments demand a high level of analysis and synthesis, at times requiring secondary-source research. This course prepares students for the Literature and Composition Advanced Placement Exam.

English 4: Topics in British Literature

Two semesters, one credit. Required of all seniors, except those enrolled in English 4: AP.

Senior English students recognize themselves as a force for change in their own lives, which enables them to be productive, contributing members of their communities. Students acquire this understanding of self-determination and context by applying, refining, and extending understandings and skills learned in previous grades. Senior-year texts include Orwell’s 1984, Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, and selected poetry, along with nonfiction and film.

Spring Semester Options for English 3 & 4

Students in grades 11 and 12 must choose one of the following focus areas for spring semester. Selections may not be repeated.

Advanced Storytelling is a focused study of various forms and techniques of storytelling. Students critique and compare stories and research and produce a multimedia storytelling project. They engage in frequent workshopping and revision of their own writing.

Drama Studiesprovides an opportunity to delve into the early dramatic works of Greek playwrights, Elizabethan drama, and modern and contemporary plays. In addition to reading and analysis, students write character and scene studies, examine film interpretations, act in and direct scenes, and write dramatic scenes of their own.

Marginalized Voices focuses on what it means to be treated as insignificant and kept in a powerless position in society. Topics to be covered could include universal suffrage, political repression, religious freedoms, the refugee crisis, prison reform, colonization, or civil rights.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT CLASSES

English 3AP: Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition

Two semesters, one credit. Open to qualified juniors by teacher recommendation.

AP English Literature and Composition students interpret texts with sensitivity to nuances of craft and creativity in expression. Students acquire skills of independent analysis and literary criticism, along with composition skills of voice, structure, and argumentation. Students undertake frequent timed-writing responses to prompts. In addition, in-depth, out-of-class writing assignments demand a high level of analysis and synthesis, at times requiring secondary-source research. This course prepares students for the Literature and Composition Advanced Placement Exam.

English 4AP: Advanced Placement English Language and Composition

Two semesters, one credit. Open to qualified seniors by teacher recommendation.

This course engages students in developing the skills to become insightful and astute readers of prose writing from various periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts. Students also work to become skilled writers and write in a variety of forms (narrative, exploratory, expository, persuasive) on a variety of subjects. The major objective of this course is to enable students to write effectively and confidently across the curriculum at Upper School, in college, and in the future. This course prepares students for the Language and Composition Advanced Placement Exam.